Leprosy, the contagious skin disease evoking thoughts of biblical and Medieval times, is now making its mark in the United States, and many believe the influx of illegal aliens is a main factor.

"Americans should be told that diseases long eradicated in this country  tuberculosis, leprosy, polio, for example  and other extremely contagious diseases have been linked directly to illegals," Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., told the Business Journal of Phoenix. "For example, in 40 years, only 900 persons were afflicted by leprosy in the U.S.; in the past three years, more than 7,000 cases have been presented."

"This emerging crisis exposes the upside-down thinking of federal immigration policy," he continued. "While legal immigrants must undergo health screening prior to entering the U.S., illegal immigrants far more likely to be carrying contagious diseases are crawling under that safeguard and going undetected until they infect extraordinary numbers of American residents."

The number of cases of leprosy, now known as Hansen's disease, among immigrants to the U.S. has more than doubled since 2000, according to a news report from Columbia University.

While the overall figure is small compared to other countries, some researchers fear the trend could lead to the disease spreading to the U.S.-born population.

"It's creeping into the U.S.," Dr. William Levis, head of the New York Hansen's Disease Clinic, told Columbia News Service. "This is a real phenomenon. It's a public health threat. New York is endemic now, and nobody's noticed."

Levis thinks America could be on the verge of an epidemic.

"We just don't know when these epidemics are going to occur," he said. "But we're on the cusp of it here, because we're starting to see endemic cases that we didn't see 25 years ago."

According to Steve Pfeifer, head of statistics and epidemiology at the National Hansen's Disease Program, only about two dozen new cases are found each year in U.S.-born patients, with that number remaining stable for decades.

But Pfeifer suggests many aliens are coming to the U.S. specifically to get treated for their skin condition, due to the short time between many immigrants' entry to the U.S. and their diagnosis with leprosy.

"They're coming to be treated because they get treatment free and probably get better treatment here," he told Columbia. "Somebody down there diagnoses them and says, 'Hey, you've got leprosy, and your best course of action is probably high-tailing to the U.S.'"

The fear is that since the disease remains contagious until treatment is commenced, a surge of diagnosed-but-untreated patients could mean a spread of leprosy into the population of those born in America.

Pfeifer said he had not issued an official report on the dangerous trend, fearing that anti-immigration groups would become vocal against centers providing free health care for illegals.

"A lot of our cases are imported," said Dr. Terry Williams, who treats leprosy victims in Houston. "We see patients from everywhere  Africa, the Philippines, China, South America."

Williams confirms that some of his patients came to the U.S. specifically for treatment, telling Columbia, "Certainly we do see some of that. We've had even a couple of patients from Cuba who were put on a boat by Castro just to get them out of the country  they made their way here through Mexico and Central America basically just to get treated. ... We treat them; our job isn't to be immigration police."

But not all experts have such a gloomy outlook.

Dr. Denis Daumerie, head of the World Health Organization's leprosy-elimination program, thinks claims of immigrants causing a spike in U.S. leprosy are overstated.

"There is no risk of an epidemic of leprosy," he told Columbia. "There's absolutely no risk that the few immigrants who are affected by the disease, if they are diagnosed and treated, will spread the disease in the U.S."

"Americans should be told that diseases long eradicated in this country  tuberculosis, leprosy, polio, for example  and other extremely contagious diseases have been linked directly to illegals," Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., told the Business Journal of Phoenix. "For example, in 40 years, only 900 persons were afflicted by leprosy in the U.S.; in the past three years, more than 7,000 cases have been presented."

"They're coming to be treated because they get treatment free and probably get better treatment here," he told Columbia. "Somebody down there diagnoses them and says, 'Hey, you've got leprosy, and your best course of action is probably high-tailing to the U.S.'"

Too bad the GOP is only interested in enlarging socialism and particularly 'free' healthcare. When foreigners read that the U.S. government has a $600 billion dollar prescription drug-giveaway the consequences should be obvious.

Folks with leprosy should mate with someone with Aids, then they will no longer have leprosy but Aids, then the government will protect them as an entitled minority, and prevent them from being quarantined, as it would violate their "civil rights". The folks with Aids can add leprosy to their list of woes, to petition the government with, to ask for more funding.

6
posted on 05/22/2005 2:38:42 PM PDT
by Mark was here
(My tag line was about to be censored.)

Fortunately only about 3% of humans are genetically susceptible to leprosy (Hansen's disease) and it is NOT extremely contagious. Treatment usually works well if patients will take their pills and start treatment before significant nerve damage occurs. The meds are supplied free in US, but the meds mainly used are old inexpensive ones affordable even in the third world. It has quite varied presentations and can be difficult to diagnose clinically, but once you think of the diagnosis a biopsy will usually confirm it. I've seen a few cases of it. It had been on the short list of medical problems the Feds listed as grounds to deny permission to immigrate; I'm not sure whether it still is so listed.

Leprosy is not easily transmitted. Only about 5% of people who live in the same household as someone with leprosy contract the disease. And it takes a long time to develop -- usually 4-8 years. I suspect this increase in U.S. leprosy cases is largely confined to certain immigrant groups from countries where it is endemic (most of whom already had it when they got here, but just weren't symptomatic yet), and is at least partly due to increased diagnosis (read: more free medical care to illegal immigrants). Also, it's now completely curable. So don't panic!

"We've had even a couple of patients from Cuba who were put on a boat by Castro just to get them out of the country ? they made their way here through Mexico and Central America basically just to get treated. ..."

Wait a minute here...the Hollywood liberals have been telling us that Cuba has the best health care system in the world.

Now why would these lepers need to be shipped out of Cuba if liberals are telling us the truth?

I should add that what we now call leprosy is NOT what was called that in the Bible. There is no evidence that it was present in the middle east yet in biblical times, although it probably was in India already. Hansen's disease can affect bones in unique ways and the archaeological record is clear on this. There was a lot of it in medieval Europe. Hansen finally found the cause in Norway in the latter 1800s. What was called "leprosy" in the bible was probably several, now distinct, conditions with prominent skin manifestations, such as the common disease we now call psoriasis. Hansen's disease, absent adequate timely treatment, certainly can be a life ruining, disfiguring disease, but it has been treatable for 60 years. People with it are truly innocent victims who did nothing unusual to cause it, unlike some of the more PC current day infections. They deserve sympathy and treatment, not bad jokes better fitting the DU than Free Republic.

""There is no risk of an epidemic of leprosy," he told Columbia. "There's absolutely no risk that the few immigrants who are affected by the disease, if they are diagnosed and treated, will spread the disease in the U.S."

Great Line, if they are diagnosed and treated!!!!!

Does this jerk know that there are upwards of 20,000,000 Illegals have invaded this country and nobody knows where they are or how healthy they are..

Another great add to the Legacy of Jorge W. Bush and his do nothing Policy on the border..

I don't think there is much ethnic difference here. It is more likely to occur in crowded (generally poor) communities where many infections spread better and in which it had already been present. I think of India, Nigeria, Brazil and SE Asia as the main remaining trouble spots. Central America has some, but not as much as the those. Medieval Europe had a lot of it so Caucasians certainly were susceptible then. I wouldn't expect much resistance to evolve since then to such a slow killer, unless it was as a side benefit to bubonic plague resistance. Historically some long isolated populations (e.g. Hawaii) were less resistant. There actually has been quite a bit of research on how the immune system handles or fails to handle leprosy, but I'm not up to speed on it. I think the 3% susceptible figure came from epidemiological models of its spread.

All of the third world countries shipping their people here have the best health care system in the world: The United States of America. Another reason to come here (and to mooch off of us and get all kinds of freebies and then complain about us).

26
posted on 05/22/2005 4:34:55 PM PDT
by Right Wing Assault
("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

This does not apply to foreign nationals, whether in this country legally or illegally. As Jacob Howard, coauthor of the citizenship clause of the 14th amendment stated in 1866:

"Every Person born within the limits of the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, is by virtue of natural law and national law a citizen of the United States. This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons."

The citizenship clause was thus clearly meant to prevent emancipated slaves from being denied citizenship, not to provide an end run around our immigration policies.

"Leprosy is not easily transmitted. Only about 5% of people who live in the same household as someone with leprosy contract the disease. And it takes a long time to develop -- usually 4-8 years. I suspect this increase in U.S. leprosy cases is largely confined to certain immigrant groups from countries where it is endemic (most of whom already had it when they got here, but just weren't symptomatic yet), and is at least partly due to increased diagnosis (read: more free medical care to illegal immigrants). Also, it's now completely curable. So don't panic!"

Agreed. This article is sensationalist and misleading. I'm more concerned about the piece of baked armadillo I ate as a kid (my dad's curiosity got the best of him) than an epidemic caused by immigrants. Anyway, Hansen's desease is easily curable now, though if untreated for a long time can lead to ghastly results.

That probably is the point, but it's poorly made because the author would rather rely on overblowing the risks from an easily treatable, low-threat disease sure to evoke panic and emotion (the horrific biblical scourge of leprosy) than to cite real evidence supporting his claim. (I might suspect that his real claim is that immigration is bad, based on the shabbiness of this article.)

I worked in a leper colony for a short while It was a public health hospital complex in Carville, Louisiana (Iberville Parish) In a wide loop of the Mississippi River, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge

Though I don't care much for the tone or specifics of this article, something like TB is more compelling as a problem, and I don't discount it. TB screening should be part of the immigration process, in my opinion.

And I was in a good mood today. GWB and the GOP should both go jump off a bridge for refusing to take care of this mess. They are not only refusing to fix this disaster, but are making excuses for it and making it worse.

40
posted on 05/22/2005 6:31:58 PM PDT
by chris1
("Make the other guy die for his country" - George S. Patton Jr.)

(I might suspect that his real claim is that immigration is bad, based on the shabbiness of this article.)

Funny. I got the idea from the author that unchecked immigration by illegals has consequences that were under control at one time. Now, however, due to the lack of leadership and the pervasive pandering by politicians we are now seeing those consequences come to fruition. That's just me though. It seems as though you think illegal immigrants don't really cause these problems and that the author just doesn't like immigrants.

There can be problems with uncontrolled immigration in terms of security, fairness, and public health. Instead of a thought ful, fair analysis of some of these issues, this guy comes out with this emotional (from the very subject matter) and misleading article that exaggerates a threat (leprosy) that hardly exists. Because his journalism is so bad, I also suspect his motives...

"It's creeping into the U.S.," Dr. William Levis, head of the New York Hansen's Disease Clinic, told Columbia News Service. "This is a real phenomenon. It's a public health threat. New York is endemic now, and nobody's noticed."

Levis thinks America could be on the verge of an epidemic.

"We just don't know when these epidemics are going to occur," he said. "But we're on the cusp of it here, because we're starting to see endemic cases that we didn't see 25 years ago."

I don't believe we're on the cusp of a leprosy epidemic in the U.S. It's total B.S. and it's easy to figure that out with about 5 minutes worth of searching on the internet. But that doesn't frighten the masses.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Court has accorded the first sentence of Sec. 1 a construction in accordance with the congressional intentions, holding that a child born in the United States of Chinese parents who themselves were ineligible to be naturalized is nevertheless a citizen of the United States entitled to all the rights and privileges of citizenship. (7) Congress' intent in including the qualifying phrase ''and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,'' was apparently to exclude from the reach of the language children born of diplomatic representatives of a foreign state and children born of alien enemies in hostile occupation, both recognized exceptions to the common-law rule of acquired citizenship by birth

(7)U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark 169 US649(1898)

(8) ibid at 682.

Anchor babies are a free ride to welfare heaven for their parents and siblings.

We probably should add something like "born to parent or parents legally residing in the United States or territories".

46
posted on 05/22/2005 7:06:44 PM PDT
by ol' hoghead
(If you stick your head in the sand, you make your butt a big target.)

You present a quote from a source and then blame the author of the article? I don't get it. Where is the shoddy journalism? It would seem to me that someone who deals with it every day (he spoke about New York) would know.

I think he selectively chose sources and mixed quotes to imply that we are on the verge of a leprosy epidemic in the U.S. I also think the article implies that the general population is at risk. I call B.S. The disease is hardly contagious and easily treatable. I simply don't see the threat. At best, it's a misleading article. At worst, it's an intentionally misleading article.

I think he selectively chose sources and mixed quotes to imply that we are on the verge of a leprosy epidemic in the U.S.

Did you miss this quote?"Dr. Denis Daumerie, head of the World Health Organization's leprosy-elimination program, thinks claims of immigrants causing a spike in U.S. leprosy are overstated.

"There is no risk of an epidemic of leprosy," he told Columbia. "There's absolutely no risk that the few immigrants who are affected by the disease, if they are diagnosed and treated, will spread the disease in the U.S."

It would seem you are the one with the biased interpretations.

By the way I was doing a google search and found many sources that back up the claim that illegals are bringing a myriad of diseases back, as well as new ones to the U.S.

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